Tale of the Cat Preview: Stan the Man Seeking First Stakes Score of 2020

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – Long Lake Stable’s Stan the Man joins a handful of New York-breds all looking for their first stakes score of 2020 in Thursday’s $85,000 Tale of the Cat Stakes at Saratoga.

The Tale of the Cate is a 6-furlong dirt sprint restricted to horses ages 4 and up which have never won a graded stakes. The 2020 edition is the seventh event on a nine-race card with a local post time of 4:12 PM.

Here is a look at the full field for the Tale of the Cat:

1. T Loves a Fight 3/1 – This veteran of the New York circuit has more wins (11) and starts (41) than anyone else in the field and has finished second or third in his last 5 non-graded stakes starts. He’s riding an 8-race winless streak into this event, but owner/trainer Orlando Noda has been hot so far this meet (17-6-3-2 with a $4.50 ROI).

2. Stan the Man 7/5 – The only non-New York-bred runner in the field sheds blinkers for the first time in 21 starts after nearly winning June’s True North Stakes (G2) last time out. That was his first start back after almost four months on the bench, so with an improved effort here, he’ll be tough to stop. He won the Queens County Stakes at Aqueduct last December.

“We didn’t have too many options and we didn’t want to jump in the deep end again with him,” said trainer John Terranova. “We also wanted to give him a little bit of space between starts. He’ll fit into the Tale of the Cat nicely because it’s a restricted stake with how it’s written. He looks good to go right now.”

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3. Ready to Escape 10/1 – He stepped up his game last time out over this course and distance, finishing third against open optional claiming company on July 24. He finished a neck behind the runner-up Strike That, who was a dominating winner here last week at the same level, and he upgrades to aggressive gate jockey Kendrick Carmouche.

4. My Boy Tate 2/1 – He returned from a four-month break a total no-show in the Commentator Stakes, but he rebounded next time out to finish third in the John Morrissey Handicap over the local course. Sharp bettors will give him extra consideration if the track is less than fast: he’s a perfect 4-for-4 on wet tracks.

5. Binkster 9/2 – He nearly defeated open allowance company over this course and distance last time out, finishing second after closely attending the pace. That was his third runner-up effort from as many tries over the local course, but perhaps his outside draw will get help him over the Saratoga hump.